Newsflash! GM will kill Pontiac!

[Harry P.]

Just heard on the radio: GM will announce next week that it's killing off Pontiac, but keeping the GMC brand.

I know...this isn't "model car related", bit it is car related, and it's pretty big news!

[B_rad88]

nooooooooooooooooo. they need to kill saturn instead!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

stupid gm!

[MrObsessive]

Well they are killing Saturn (as of '12).............Best service in the world as I own a Saturn Ion Coupe. Although I did spend a pretty penny just today for preventative maintenance.

Pontiac going away is just a cryin' shame! First "fun" car I really owned was a '69 LeMans after the boring '69 Dodge Dart which was the first car I ever owned.

GM was supposed to turn Pontiac into some sort of niche brand with RWD cars only........what's going to become of the G8, Solstice, and the rumored rear drive platform of the next G6?

They all seem to be fading away one by one..................

[Guest promodmerc]

They should have killed Buick. Keep them old farts at home and off the streets

[B_rad88]

Well they are killing Saturn (as of '12).............Best service in the world as I own a Saturn Ion Coupe. Although I did spend a pretty penny just today for preventative maintenance.

Pontiac going away is just a cryin' shame! First "fun" car I really owned was a '69 LeMans after the boring '69 Dodge Dart which was the first car I ever owned.

GM was supposed to turn Pontiac into some sort of niche brand with RWD cars only........what's going to become of the G8, Solstice, and the rumored rear drive platform of the next G6?

They all seem to be fading away one by one..................

yeah gm's plan was pontiac to be all rear wheel drive cars, they was going to bring over holden from austrailia, and rebadge the cars as pontiacs(like what they did with the new gto and g8!) but i guess not!

and yes kill buick, and i'm tired of running for my life, when they lose control and drive through the farmers market!

and thank god they already killed oldsmobile!

[MrObsessive]

and yes kill buick, and i'm tired of running for my life, when they lose control and drive through the farmers market!

;)

Best laugh I've had all day!!

[CAL]

Actually Cadi will probably also go.

The new CEO said in today's market you cannot have a car you can't sell globally and you can't sell Cadi anywhere but here. However, Buick is huge in China so Buick is very unlikely to go.

Saturn is done unless someone picks it up which there has been talks about that.

Hummer is probably also done.

SAAB is done

Cadi is likely done

Not withstanding Buick is GM's halmark of quality.

Edited April 24, 2009 by CAL

[george 53]

Cadillac is the FLAGSHIP of the General Motors line, I personally don't beleive it'll go ANYWHERE! You can see the Cadillac assembly plant from the G.M. building downtown. I don't beleive they'll stop production of the Cadillac, they already have stated that the Cadillac plant will be where the new Volt is assembled. Kill Caddy? Even if the are ONLY sold here I truly don't beleive they'll kill it! Tha'd be like BMW killin their 7/800 series Or Toyota killin the Lexus, it just ain't gonna happen.

[Harry P.]

I'm just speculating here, this is totally my opinion only, but I wouldn't be surprised if a few Pontiac models survived as either Chevies or Buicks...

[B_rad88]

or nissan killing infinity.............

nope not going to happen, and people are selling there hummers and buying caddy's now!

and is gm still selling those ugly a** electric go karts?

i think it was gm that sold them? please correct me if i am wrong!

[CAL]

Cadillac is the FLAGSHIP of the General Motors line, I personally don't beleive it'll go ANYWHERE! You can see the Cadillac assembly plant from the G.M. building downtown. I don't beleive they'll stop production of the Cadillac, they already have stated that the Cadillac plant will be where the new Volt is assembled. Kill Caddy? Even if the are ONLY sold here I truly don't beleive they'll kill it! Tha'd be like BMW killin their 7/800 series Or Toyota killin the Lexus, it just ain't gonna happen.

I am just saying what the new guy said a few weeks ago.

He said it was not viable to have a car maker in this climate to make a car you cannot sell globally... and Caddy is not something they sell globablly infact the just pulled all their European Caddy dealers.

Yeah, they pretty much already said they were going to rebadge the viable Pontiac line under Chevy.

[B_rad88]

and to me buick blows just like oldsmobile! kill it!!!! kill buick!!!! and i think they should sell saab, they have nice(alright) cars. and as far as saturn goes: they rebadged it i europe as opel. the new saturn sky here, is the opel gt over there.

and caddy is the king! if they kill caddy i will lose all hope for american cars!

edit:

i will stick to my honda!

(its sad i used to own a small gm car called geo metro! what a P.O.S. 3cyl of fury and 55hp of doom! )

Edited April 24, 2009 by KUZTOMMODELS88

[CAL]

and to me buick blows just like oldsmobile! kill it!!!! kill buick!!!! and i think they should sell saab, they have nice(alright) cars. and as far as saturn goes: they rebadged it i europe as opel. the new saturn sky here, is the opel gt over there.

and caddy is the king! if they kill caddy i will lose all hope for american cars!

edit:

i will stick to my honda!

(its sad i used to own a small gm car called geo metro! what a P.O.S. 3cyl of fury and 55hp of doom! )

I guess we wait and see. I don't have a lot of confidence that the folks at GM or the White House will do the right thing, when it comes to GM's future.

Buick is too strong. Belive it or not, Buick has the highest reliablity and intial quality for GM and better global sales than Caddy.

[Guest promodmerc]

and to me buick blows just like oldsmobile! kill it!!!! kill buick!!!! and i think they should sell saab, they have nice(alright) cars. and as far as saturn goes: they rebadged it i europe as opel. the new saturn sky here, is the opel gt over there.

and caddy is the king! if they kill caddy i will lose all hope for american cars!

edit:

i will stick to my honda!

(its sad i used to own a small gm car called geo metro! what a P.O.S. 3cyl of fury and 55hp of doom! )

The Geo Metro was a re-badged Suzuki Swift. I had a 96 Swift and it was a good little car. Much better than the P.O.S 97 Taurus that we traded the 'Zuki in on.

[MrObsessive]

Here's the story in the link below...........

R.I.P. Pontiac

[Harry P.]

What currently passes for "Pontiacs" are nothing more than other cars re-badged as "Pontiacs". Looks like Pontiac, as most of us knew it, was already dead anyway... might as well make it official.

Oh well... move over Packard, Pierce-Arrow, and Plymouth... we got another one going into the "P" plot...

[ford56]

The Geo Metro was a re-badged Suzuki Swift. I had a 96 Swift and it was a good little car. Much better than the P.O.S 97 Taurus that we traded the 'Zuki in on.

Isn't it funny that the company that made the P.O.S. Taurus is the only one of the three standing on it's own feet.

GM and Chrysler are finished. It's only a matter of time. They should have NEVER took the bailout money. the government

will never release ownership, never. They will dissolve Chrysler and GM will only be making those little segway pieces of

s--t or maybe a wind powered vehicle with a sail. Let's take it another step. The internal combustion engine will be outlawed in 10 yrs. or close to it unless we rein in this current administration and the environmental WACKOS.

[roadhawg]

They should have NEVER took the bailout money. the government

will never release ownership, never.

I've ALWAYS said it was a conspiracy! The government wants control of ALL essential businesses.

[Guest Gramps-xrds]

There hasn't been a Pontiac around since about 1980. So all their doin is killin one of the chevys off. As for Cadys, they'd be stupid to do that. That's about the only big car that gets 30+ mpg on the road. I have an 89 and 95 and they both get that. For a V8 that ain't bad.

[Nick F40]

I like Pontiac, when it comes to new muscle cars, Cadillac dominates and the G8 GXP is insane and SOOOO underrated, it'll smoke a Challenger, Camaro and Mustand but the only reason people don't really know about it is because it isn't "retro". It isn't supposed to replicate something anyway that's still my favorite and 4 doors, you kidding me? awsome, just purely awsome. I think get rid of Saturn, their cars are good, maybe keep them but still, all they are are Opels!

[Peter Lombardo]

These are very strange times that we are living in. Saturn has about a 50/50 chance of survival and that is only if some other car maker picks up the brand, otherwise as each model run is done, it is ended. Around 2012, if nothing changes, it is nothing but a collector’s item. Buick only lives on because the Chinese love them…they are the number one selling import in China, in fact the number one selling car is the Buick Lucerne in black with black leather interior…go figure. Saab is basically done for GM…it all depends on the Swedish government stepping in to bail them out. Hummer sleeps with the fishes and Pontiac, I have heard, may hand Chevy the G8 as the Impala replacement (I heard it from a rep. but can’t be sure). Over Obama’s objection, it looks like GMC trucks stay on and Cadillac is holding on by the ducks teeth on their crest. Their sales were down over 45% last month and that can not be allowed to happen very long. Bankruptcy for GM is coming for sure and that will have a huge impact on whether some brands survive or not.

I was at one of the dealerships I represent yesterday and got to see their first new Camaro up close and personal. It was an ordered car and was yellow with black interior SS coupe getting a ground effects package installed at the dealership prior to delivery. The car is beautiful. Bigger than I thought, reasonably comfortable inside but with lots, and I do mean LOTS of blind spots…that should be interesting. What a shame GM took so long bringing this car out….at least one year too late. I comes into a market that is so uncertain with a hefty price tag. This was a very well equipped stick 6 speed SS, no sunroof (owner is too tall) but most every other toy and the price is a cool $39,000. Maybe it is me, but at this price level it is going to be a tough sell once the “I gotta’ have it†crowd get theirs. I know a V6 moderately equipped car will be less, but come on, if you are getting a pony car, it needs enough ponies to make it worthwhile. Also, with the way the current administration is going, these “late model muscle cars†will be outlawed by Al Gore and his posse sooner or later anyway.

Chrysler is a total ###### shoot at this point. Fiat is looking to do the deal mainly because they are looking for an outlet in the US for their little cars and they can provide an outlet in Europe for primarily Jeep but most importantly, Fiat is not bringing the one thing Chrysler needs to their little party….and that is cash. Fiat has no cash to help sure up Chrysler with. Bankruptcy is certainly just ahead. For both of their sakes, I hope Americans have a short memory because most people I know remind me all the time that Fiats were just ######. I never owned one so I can not speak of their product other then I always liked the 131 Brava sedan and the roadsters were pretty good looking. All I can say is that if I were a Chrysler product dealer I would be very nervous right now….I might be looking to get a “Subway†franchise or maybe a “Dunkin†Donutsâ€â€¦if you know what I mean.

Ford is the only bright spot in the US auto landscape. They still own their finance arm, Ford Motor Credit, 100%, and have a solid European business going. They took all of the “hits†in the past few years so that they are in the best position now that the crunch has come. Ford stock price has doubled in the past few weeks (great, I brought some months ago) as the investors ( I think ) see them as the main survivors here in the US. The only real hurtle for them is if GM and Chrysler take huge body blows, the suppliers will be affected and therefore so will Ford, so we will have to see how that plays out. Either way, the US automobile landscape will most likely look completely different in a few years from now….what an outright sin. We (Americans) should all be ashamed of ourselves for what we have allowed to happen to this once great juggernaut of the industrial world. Corporate greed and the inability to match the import vehicles on style, quality and price….much of that brought about by unions’ unreasonable demands and the car makers’ lack of courage to stand up the demands and the inability of Detroit car makers to render the unions useless by treating the workers fairly from the get go. (Understand, I do not blame the Unions for this mess, it is just the cost of the American labor per car, with the benefit packages figured in, is too great to compete with the import brands) Unions are unnecessary in the import factories because the workers are treated like family. The auto corporations need to look within for the real villain here. The manufacturers have, in my opinion, been arrogant and unwilling to listen to the critics who have been telling them for over 30 years now to change their ways or suffer the consequences. I got into the automobile business in 1979 and I have seen the steady assault of the imports. The US manufacturers have ignored, for the most part, the obvious signs of the disaster that has now reached its tipping point. Far too many innocent American workers will now pay the price for the companies’ arrogance and ignorance. I fear this is the beginning of the end. We are just beginning the long slide down the slope.

[Harry P.]

Peter, you make a lot of good points there, but I have to disagree a bit on the "corporate greed" part of your post. I don't think GM suffers from a higher level of corporate greed than does any other large (or small) company. Greed is a universal human trait, shared by the head honchos at GM as well as their counterparts in any other industry around the world. I'd like for anyone to show me a list of 10 large corporations that don't look first to their own bottom line before anything else. They all do... they all have to.

I think GM's problems are not so much caused by greed, but by complacency, a hugely bloated management structure, and a bit of arrogance. After all, GM ruled the roost for years... long before most of the current suits there were born. And I think that GM management simply never seriously considered their reign would, or could, ever end. Shortsightedness and bad business decisions did them in more so than greed.

[Custom Hearse]

Hmmmm.... If they get rid of Cadillac, what are they going to make hearses out of? Buicks? YEEEECH!!!!

[Art Anderson]

Peter, you make a lot of good points there, but I have to disagree a bit on the "corporate greed" part of your post. I don't think GM suffers from a higher level of corporate greed than does any other large (or small) company. Greed is a universal human trait, shared by the head honchos at GM as well as their counterparts in any other industry around the world. I'd like for anyone to show me a list of 10 large corporations that don't look first to their own bottom line before anything else. They all do... they all have to.

I think GM's problems are not so much caused by greed, but by complacency, a hugely bloated management structure, and a bit of arrogance. After all, GM ruled the roost for years... long before most of the current suits there were born. And I think that GM management simply never seriously considered their reign would, or could, ever end. Shortsightedness and bad business decisions did them in more so than greed.

For starters, corporate management hasn't really been looking at the bottom line all that closely in recent decades--it's the stock price that keeps stockholders happy, not the dividends. So, anything to make the stock value rise quarter to quarter gets you a promotion, at least lets you keep your job.

But, in all that, GM and it's union all forgot, years ago, how to maintain sustainability.

Art

[Modelmartin]

The internal combustion engine will be outlawed in 10 yrs. or close to it unless we rein in this current administration and the environmental WACKOS.

Meds?

I've ALWAYS said it was a conspiracy! The government wants control of ALL essential businesses.

Coo-coo for cocoa puffs!!

Others made some good points. I think GM and Chrysler have failed mostly in managing a good product line. When I went with my then 79 year old mother while she was buying a new Scion Xb 3 years ago, I marveled at all of the very nicely built and thoughtfully designed and attractive cars for every category that Toyota had in their showroom. They had economy cars, luxury cars, sporty cars, vans, trucks, SUVs, Crossovers, etc, etc and they are all well engineered, long lasting, trouble-free vehicles. They have Prius' and gashogs!!

I find it interesting that last year, for the very first time, Toyota lost money. I forgot the amount but it wasn't comparable to US automaker losses.

It is too bad that we are losing some historical car marques. GM was founded with Buick and Oldsmobile. Maybe they can drop all of the current nameplates and call them Generals or Durants after the founder who was ousted twice. They will likely end up with just Chevrolet and Cadillac and that would be sensible. Maybe then they could rationalize their product line. I was a Chevy guy in my youth and find it sad to see the current state of affairs. A retro Camaro won't save them. Forget retro! Who has the most retro cars? Chrysler does and look what sad shape they are in. I don't think a retro Fiat will save Chrysler either.